This invention relates to protecting electronic device components from shocks due to impacts on the electronic device housing.
Electronic devices are constructed using many different components, some of which may be fragile. For example, some electronic devices may include moving components that are particularly susceptible to damage when subject to impacts. Such components may include, for example, hard drives (e.g., rotating discs), input mechanisms (e.g., switches located inside the electronic device), or any other mechanical component operative to move within the electronic device.
To prevent damage to such components, elastic materials may be placed around the components to absorb at least a part of impacts. For example, an elastic sleeve may be placed around the periphery of an electronic device component such that the sleeve deflects upon impact, absorbing part of the energy transmitted to the electronic device component and reducing the force applied to the electronic device.
While using elastic materials (e.g., materials with low Young's modulus) may limit the strength of shock events on electronic device components, such materials are typically tailored to minimize a specific impact (e.g., a maximum drop while the component is not moving). While the material may prevent damage due to less significant impacts, if the component is subject to a lesser impact while it is more susceptible to damage, the elastic protection material may not be sufficient (e.g., the elastic material cannot reduce the force to an amount less than the critical force when the component is more susceptible). In addition, the amount of elastic material necessary to cushion an impact may be too large to be a useful approach in small form-factor electronic devices.